Ancestral Visions: Papua New Guinea Art from the Sepik Ramu

Lempertz is delighted to host this exhibition to mark the launch of a new book, Sepik Ramu Art, edited by Kevin Conru with contributions from three eminent scholars, Virginia-Lee Webb, Crispin Howarth and Barry Craig.

Ancestral Visions: Papua New Guinea Art from the Sepik Ramu

14.05.2019

Lempertz is delighted to host this exhibition to mark the launch of a new book, Sepik Ramu Art, edited by Kevin Conru with contributions from three eminent scholars, Virginia-Lee Webb, Crispin Howarth and Barry Craig.

Lempertz is delighted to host this exhibition to mark the launch of a new book, Sepik Ramu Art, edited by Kevin Conru with contributions from three eminent scholars, Virginia-Lee Webb, Crispin Howarth and Barry Craig. The book will feature about 200 works, drawn from three renowned European private collections, each superbly photographed by Hughes Dubois. From these objects Lempertz and Kevin Conru have selected 96 which will be exhibited at Lempertz’ gallery on the Rue du Grand Cerf (Grotehertstraat) in Brussels from 24 May - 28 June.

The Sepik River flows largely west to east along its serpentine course of more than 1,000 kilometres and the Ramu River flows 650 kilometres south to north, both emptying into the Bismarck Sea. The vast catchment area of the two rivers is home to numerous groups such as the Iatmul, Boiken, and Abelam, and at one time more that 200 languages were spoken in the region. The exhibition will attempt to reflect the broad diversity of art works from the area, from small body ornaments to a large house post and skull rack; from small masks and figures used as personal charms to large gable masks, shields, malu boards, headrests, food hooks and over-modelled skulls. The exhibition does not set out to be a comprehensive ethnographic survey but rather is a celebration of the very best artistic achievements of the carvers and other artists of this area.

As might be expected with loans from such important collections, many of the works date from the earliest period of contact with the west and the list of provenances features many of the greatest names of museums, dealers, collectors and anthropologists. Some of the artefacts were formerly in the Linden Museum, Stuttgart; the Reiss Museum in Mannheim; the Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin; the Rautenstrauch Joest Museum, Cologne; and the Liverpool Museum. Amongst the great dealers whose names feature are Arthur Speyer, Berlin; Leendert Van Lier, Blaricum; Philip Goldman, London; Matthias Lemaire, Amsterdam; Charles Ratton, Paris; and Julius Konietzko, Hamburg.  Great collectors from the past include Ernst Heinrich, Bad Cannstatt; Cornelius Meulendijk and Carel Groenevelt, Rotterdam; James Hooper, Arundel; and Walter Bondy, Paris.

From 24 May - 28 June

Opening hours during Bruneaf:

11 am to 5 pm

Regular opening hours:

Tuesday to Saturday , 11am to 5 pm

Lempertz Brussels

Grote Hertstraat 6 rue du Grand Cerf

1000 Bruxelles   

T +32 (0)2514 0586

brussel@lempertz.com